Birthday Cake - 2 Years Old - Elephant

Yesterday little S turned 2 years old. We have entered his third Winter, his third Christmas approaches. His current favourite word / thing is 'elephant'. So I had to attempt an elephant cake. I made the banana cake again, with cream cheese icing again. This time with some frozen blueberries blended up and added to the icing to make it more elephant-coloured. And then decorated with a dried blackcurrant for the eye, and poppy seeds to make the ear. I actually doubled the recipe for the cake, but one circular cake would have been perfect - the bits I cut off were sufficient for the bits I wanted to add back on, with just a tiny bit left over. And one tub of cream cheese' worth of icing would have been just right too - I have a lot of icing left over. The remaining cake went with S to vuggestue today (they don't allow sugar, but honey and bananas were OK - I checked last Friday); will have to find a use for the icing. He recognized it as an elephant (that was my main goal!)!

Tinned-peach and custard cake

We went to Aldi, checking for the good tofu. I spontaneously purchased a huge tin of peach halves while we were there, off of some kind of thought process like: it's winter, there aren't many good fresh fruits now... how about tinned fruit? I used to love tinned peaches as a kid, maybe sage would like them... now I realize how sweet they are, I guess that's why I liked them really, but they do have a specific, nostalgic taste. I won a tin in a tombola once.

They'd been sitting in the pantry for some time when I realized I was never really going to eat 800+ g of tinned peaches... and I felt like I'd seen a German cake recipe with tinned fruit. I came across this one and it sounded good and I had pretty much all the ingredients sooooo here we are.

For the base:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup (55 g) cold butter, diced
1/2 cup milk (used oat milk)
1 egg
1 large (c. 825 g) tin peach halves, drained and sliced 1/2 in thick

For the custard:
1 cup heavy cream (used oat milk)
2 tsp flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
pinch of salt

Heat the oven to 400F / 204C. Grease and line a springform cake tin. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together with a fork in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and rub it in until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. In a separate, small bowl, whisk together the milk and egg. Pour the milk mix over the flour mix and mix with the fork until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Arrange the peach slices on top (I had a few left over). Bake for 15 min.

Meanwhile make the custard. Combine 1/4 cup milk with the flour, and whisk to get rid of lumps. Add the rest of the milk, sugar, egg, vanilla and salt, and whisk well to mix. Take the cake out of the oven and pour the cream mix over the top. Put the cake back in and reduce the heat to 350F / 177C. Bake 35-40 min more (nb mine took longer, and I had to add a foil hat as the peaches were catching). When the cake top is puffed, and the edges are deep gold and separating from the sides of the tin, the cake is done. Remove from the oven and let cool at least 15 min before removing from the tin and letting cool completely.

Kohlrabi sesame slaw

Our friends are having a Thanksgiving potluck tomorrow. I wasn't sure what to make, but C suggested a salad, and also said whatever we had in the fridge was fine... We had a gigantic kohlrabi in the fridge. Most of it has now become this slaw. I think I'll also take a tinned-peach cake.

2 lb kohlrabi
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (recipe said 1 minced chilli)
1 small clove garlic, crushed and minced (recipe said 2 tbsp minced fresh garlic)
2 spring onions, finely chopped (recipe said 1/2 cup chopped spring onions)
handful chopped coriander (recipe said 1/4 cup chopped coriander)
toasted sesame seeds

Peel and shred the kohlrabi. Toss with the salt and set in a colander for 15 min. Rinse, drain and pat dry. Whisk together the tahini, oils, lime juice, chilli and garlic. Toss the dressing with the kohlrabi, spring onions and coriander. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over the top before eating.

Shakshuka

I first ate shakshuka quite a while ago. Perhaps it was made by my friend N, it was one of his signature dishes (he's also vegetarian, and a good cook). But somehow never got around to making it for ages. We had some for lunch in a cafe recently, and I realized it is good, and also super simple if you make the sauce in advance. I used approximately this recipe, and made the sauce in advance, before cracking 4 eggs into it for a weeknight dinner.

 4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 sweet peppers, diced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne
800 g (2 tins) tinned tomatoes
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-8 eggs*
small bunch coriander, chopped
c. 2/3 a pack feta

Heat the oil in a large lidded pan. Add onion, cook until golden. Add peppers, fry until soft. Stir in garlic and spices and cook for a few more minutes. Add tinned tomatoes, stir in the sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for c. 30 min. Taste and season.

When ready to eat, heat the sauce in a large lidded deep-sided frying pan. When warm, turn down to the lowest heat, make the right number of wells for the eggs, then crack the eggs one at a time into a cup before pouring into a well. Simmer gently for approx. 10 min (mine took a bit longer) - you may wish to put the lid on to encourage the eggs to cook more evenly. Sprinkle with coriander and feta and eat with crusty bread. 


*The eggs took a little longer to cook than I expected (maybe more like 20 min?), but other than that it was great - perhaps even a good idea to leave the sauce in the fridge for a bit, to let the flavours meld.

Honey cake

Ever since I started keeping bees I have always been on the lookout for a perfect honey cake. I spotted this recipe in a feature about using stuff up (in this case, crystallised honey), and it seemed to fit the bill. So I gave it a try.

200-250 g honey
150 g butter
2 eggs, beaten
220 g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder

Heat the oven to 200C. Grease and line a 20 cm diameter cake tin. Melt 170 g honey and the butter in a pan over a low heat. Remove from the heat, stir in the eggs, flour and baking powder until well combined, then pour into the prepared cake tin. Bake c. 35 min / until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Spike the cake all over with a skewer, then spread / crumble the remaining honey over the top.


It was a bit dry. Maybe I left it in the oven a bit long? Or I used 200 g honey, maybe it would be worth trying with 250 g instead? The quest for the perfect honey cake continues...

Asparagus, garlic, feta, lemon, thyme

Also belated from early Summer...

We did a pretty good job of asparagus season this year, if I do say so myself. We ate lots... and as much of it from our veg share as possible (think we ordered a special asparagus bag every week!). Everything seems to be growing well this year, and I guess asparagus was no exception. And it turned out small S loves it (although only the tips: he is a discerning little bug)... Much of it was prepped v simply - either with st george’s mushrooms or just boiled for 4 min and then dressed with melted butter and lemon juice... this is only slightly more complicated, but is now my other favourite way to eat it...

olive oil

c. 4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large bunch asparagus, tough bits snapped off and rest snapped into nice-sized  pieces

salt+pepper

zest and juice of approx 1/4 lemon

c. 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

1/2 pack of feta

Heat olive oil in a large frying pan with a lid and add the garlic. Sizzle for a few min, then add the asparagus pieces. Season with salt and pepper, cover and cook for a few minutes, then uncover and cook until excess moisture is gone and there is a little colour on the asparagus (it should be tender). Turn off the heat and let cool a bit, then squeeze over the lemon juice and add half the zest. Allow to cool a bit more, then serve warm, with the feta crumbled on top and thyme leaves and rest of the lemon zest scattered over it.

Aubergine, mango and soba noodle salad

A belated post from early Summer...

We went for dumplings on blågardsplads the other day - at a place we discovered either before or after a hospital appointment (silver linings). A place (think it’s called gao) that I love - they have two different kinds of vegetarian dumplings (mushroom pan fried and spinach steamed), both equally delicious; plus a long list of veggie sides that are all simple but perfect... sage loved them too. Anyway, while there remembered about the great fruit and veg shops also on blågards, checked them out too, and discovered a box of Pakistani mangoes! The delicate south Asian mangoes are way superior to the thick-skinned African ones you usually find in supermarkets - the one thing that could convince me to go to India in monsoon season... I had just been thinking maybe it was the season, but couldn’t think where was the right shop to find them...

I made this salad first about this time last year, when sage was tiny. I remember feeling proud i’d managed to cook something proper, especially because it was from a cookbook Seb gave me for my birthday (ie a few days after sage was born). Aside from eating them straight up, this seemed like a suitably special way to use some of our fine box of mangoes. This time, sage ate it too (and liked it! Although think he preferred the vegan sausages we ate with it (didn’t have any tofu)).

120 ml rice vinegar  (or apple cider vinegar)
40 g sugar
½ tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ red chilli, finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 lime, grated zest and juice
300 ml sunflower oil
2 aubergines, cut into 2 cm dice
300g soba noodles
½ red onion, thinly sliced
1 large mango, peeled and cut into 1cm dice
40g basil, chopped
40g coriander, chopped

In a saucepan, gently heat the vinegar, sugar and salt, just until the sugar dissolves, for up to a minute. Remove from the heat and add the garlic, chilli and sesame oil. Set aside to cool, then add the lime zest and juice.

Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan and shallow-fry the aubergine in three or four batches. Once golden-brown, transfer to a colander, sprinkle liberally with salt and leave to drain.

Cook the noodles in plenty of boiling, salted water, stirring occasionally, for five to eight minutes - the noodles should retain a bite - then drain and rinse under cold water. Shake off the excess water and place on kitchen towel to dry.

In a mixing bowl, toss the noodles with the dressing, aubergine, onion, mango and half the herbs. You can leave it aside for an hour or two. When ready to serve, add the rest of the herbs, mix and pile on a plate or in a bowl.

Baked smashed potatoes

It's been a while since I updated my recipes. Ages ago, when potatoes were new, I made some smashed potatoes, inspired by this.

Basically just take some boiled potatoes (I don't remember if I used warm or cold ones, either should work?), put in a baking tin and squash with the back of a big wooden spoon. Then drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and put in the oven at 200C for about 30 min / until golden and crispy around the edges.

Date balls

Date balls is kind of a bad name for these - they are nicer than that - also containing cacao, coconut, almond... Based on this recipe.

(makes approx 12)

1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup ground almonds
1 tbsp cacao powder
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp almond butter
3 medjool dates
Extra cacao and cinnamon powder for rolling (or coconut)

Grind coconut and almonds together in a blender. Add cacao, coconut oil and almond butter and blend to mix. Add the dates and blend until well mixed*. Scoop approx tsp sized pieces of mixture, roll into balls, and coat by rolling in extra cacao powder (and/or cinnamon and/or more desiccated coconut). Best kept in the fridge (or freezer).


* I couldn’t get the dates to grind in my blender at all - they just stuck in big pieces... later realised the blender broke (it was ancient). So I ended up chopping and mashing with a knife and fork instead: old school. The fork solution worked out ok but was more work than I was expecting! But good to know you could make them without blender at all if needed.

These would also be lovely with ground pecans instead of almonds... but I liked the symmetry of using almonds plus almond butter, and coconut plus coconut oil, for this time. And they are good - best after chilling overnight. Would be quite kid friendly without the cacao.

German rhubarb cake

I am slowly trying out more recipes from this book. This is possibly my favourite so far. Definitely the simplest I have tried - but nonetheless a lovely way of using the first rhubarb of the season. Below is what I baked, which was a half quantity, in a 9 inch cake tin with removable base. It was a good size of cake for our little family.

250 g rhubarb, trimmed and chopped into 12 mm pieces
80 g sugar
50 g butter, softened
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
grated zest of 1/4 lemon
95 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
30 ml milk

Heat oven to 350F / 180C. Grease and line a 9 in cake tin with removable base. Toss rhubarb pieces with 1 1/2 tbsp sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the remaining 63g sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg, then beat in the vanilla and lemon zest.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt together with a fork. Beat half of this mixture into the butter mixture, then beat in the milk, then beat in the rest of the flour mixture until just combined.

Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin, smoothing it out evenly. Scatter the rhubarb over the top and press in lightly. It will seem like a lot of rhubarb, but that is good. Bake for 45-50 min, or until the cake batter has puffed up slightly around the rhubarb and is golden brown. Remove from the oven when done, and set on a rack to cool completely before removing the cake and peeling off the paper. Best eaten the day after baking.


The lemon and vanilla are almost imperceptible, but important - I had a really nice, fragrant lemon by chance, and I think maybe it made a difference in such a simple cake. Can’t help wondering about replacing some of the flour with ground almonds? The recipe suggests trying almond streusel on top, and trying sour cherries or chopped plums instead of rhubarb.

Easter egg decorating

I kicked the Easter holidays off with some egg dyeing experiments. I bought a big box of biodynamic white eggs, and used everything I could find in the kitchen to try and colour them. I wanted to make something for Sage to discover and play with, mainly. But was also curious to try different things.

Clockwise from top right: Egg blown (innards used for banana pancakes), then soaked in hot water containing a little vinegar and lots of turmeric - which made it pale yellow - then dipped in hot water containing green food colouring, a little vinegar, and some sunflower oil spattered on top; Egg hardboiled (9 min) in water containing salt, a little vinegar, and a lot of red onion skins - which made it hen's egg brown, with the colour seeming to stick in the pores but wipe off elsewhere; Egg hardboiled, then dipped in hot water containing green food colouring with a spatter of sunflower oil on top; Egg treated same as the first one; Egg hardboiled (9 min) in water containing salt, a little vinegar, and as much chopped red cabbage as I could fit in - turned the water a pretty purple shade but did nothing to the egg... so then I dunked it in the red onion skin water, and smeared it with frozen-defrosting blueberries... and the purple one is one of small S's egg shaker toys.

Of the natural colours I tried, the turmeric gave by far the strongest/nicest colour - although I might try again with blueberries and raspberries, they also had potential (but I didn't want to waste them). And my cabbage didn't seem to have as strong a colour as other red cabbages, actually - could maybe try again. Or maybe use a different approach - instead of putting stuff in the cooking water could try making a puree or extract and rubbing it directly onto the egg like with the blueberries... The effect I like best is the marbling with oil on coloured water though - I guess food colouring is designed to stick well and look good...

Banana pancakes

The small one is obsessed with bananas. I guess most small ones are. He can spot them a mile off - was standing and staring at a small boy eating one on the train the other day...

It being Easter, a combination of egg and banana seemed like exactly the right thing this morning. I never tried making pancakes with only egg and banana before (I'd say the vanilla and bicarb are optional), but I came across the idea when looking for banana pancake recipe inspiration, and it worked!

(makes approx 3 large medium (ie somewhere in between uk and us thickness) pancakes)

1 large banana, mashed with a fork
2 eggs, beaten
pinch of bicarb
1/2 tsp vanilla
oil for the pan

Mash the banana in a medium bowl, add the beaten eggs and mix well together, incorporating the bicarb and vanilla. Heat a little oil in a non stick frying pan and then fry the pancakes, flipping when one side is done. Watch they don't burn, the banana sweetness can speed that up.


Good with maple syrup, greek yoghurt, raspberries, pecans, that kind of thing. Small S ate a whole one, so I guess he was a fan.

Banana tahini chocolate cake

I got on a bit of a roll with tahini baking after making these - couldn't believe I hadn't done more of it before! This was the next thing I tried - was also delicious, although I wished I could taste the tahini...

2 large ripe or overripe bananas (approx 250 g weighed with skins on / ¾ cup mashed)
60 ml veg oil
50 g tahini
1 large egg (at room temp)
50 g caster sugar
35 g soft dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
60 g flour
25 g cocoa
¼ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
100 g dark chocolate chips
1-2 tsp sesame seeds (to sprinkle on top)

Heat the oven to 170C / 150C Fan / 325F. Grease and line a 1 lb / 450 g loaf tin (approx 21 x 10 x 6 cm / 8.5 x 4 x 2.5 in). Peel and mash the bananas in a large bowl, then beat in the tahini, followed by the oil, then the egg, and finally the sugars and vanilla. Mix flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt together with a fork in a separate, medium bowl, and then slowly beat into the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips. Add the batter to the prepared tin, smoothing the top, and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Bake for 45-50 min until risen and firm to the touch, and a skewer comes out almost clean (bearing in mind chocolate). It will probably crack on top. Let cool completely in its tin on a wire rack. Once cold, remove from tin and wrap in parchment then foil and leave it for a day before slicing and eating.

Tahini chocolate cookies

I came across this recipe and it marries two of my favourite things (dark chocolate and tahini), and everything I’ve ever baked with tahini I have loved, but there hasn’t been nearly enough, and so clearly I had to make it. Then I looked at the cookbook it came from and realised it is some kind of cancer diet cookbook... I am not sure how I feel about diet advice for cancer, mostly I try and trust my body to tell me what it needs. But sometimes it is nice to think there is something within your control, like the food you eat every day, that can make a difference. Anyway, I haven’t done anything drastic with diet, although I have found it comforting to cook and to try and make appetising, varied food for my wee family, even when I didn’t feel much like eating. Weirdly, my appetite during chemo was often similar to when I was pregnant, so I had some practice already of figuring out what to eat when I don’t feel like eating. Also, I am a consummate snacker / grazer, which I think has helped stave off nausea in both situations.

Anyway, back to the topic: tahini! dark chocolate! As I made these I was reminded of happy gluten-free baking adventures in Boston, making gluten-free vegan treats for A, H and me. These cookies are fundamentally really similar to the sunflower butter gf cookies I used to make - I have no idea why I didn’t think of replacing the sunflower butter with tahini before, given how much I love tahini and how much easier it is to find...

1 large egg
½ cup tahini
½ cup almond flour (used normal almond meal)
½ cup coconut sugar (used normal sugar)
½ tsp baking powder
One 3½ oz / 100 g 70% (or higher) dark chocolate bar, coarsely chopped
pinch coarse sea salt

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C and line a baking sheet with baking paper. In a medium bowl, beat together the egg, tahini, almond flour, sugar, and baking powder to make a thick, sticky mixture. Fold in the chopped chocolate. Scoop about 1 tbsp of batter and place it on the baking sheet. Continue, spacing each cookie about 2½ in apart (they will spread a bit), until you have used all of the dough. Sprinkle cookies with the coarse salt. Bake 8-9 min, keeping an eye on them as they can burn easily - they should be just lightly browned on top (nb mine took longer: c 20 min). Let cool for 10 min on the baking sheet, then finish cooling on a rack.


These were simple and delicious! They seemed a bit greasy when shaping but baked up ok. There was maybe a bit much (!) chocolate, I used almond meal, which I suspect is a bit different from almond flour but was what I had, and they still came out looking like cookies and tasting good. Could be good with an oat-raisin-cinnamon situation instead of chocolate. Probably easily veganised with a flax egg, although I didn’t try it (just checked, and my favourite Lidl chocolate is vegan - hurrah). Also, might be interesting to try them with black tahini - I have some...

Delia veggie moussaka

This was comfort food too. I made this a few times, a long time ago. You can't go wrong with Delia and this kind of thing. It was just as satisfying as I remembered.

10 fl oz / 275 ml veg stock
2 oz / 50 g puy lentils
2 oz / 50 g green lentils
4 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped into ¼ inch (5 mm) dice
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2 aubergines, each 8 oz / 225 g -> 1 lb / 450 g total, cut into 1/2 in / 1 cm dice
1 x 14 oz (400 g) tin chopped tomatoes, drained
7 fl oz / 200 ml red wine (subbed a bit of soy sauce and some water - wine is rarely open around here)
2 level tbsp tomato purée or sun-dried tomato paste
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
2 level tbsp chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper

For the topping:
10 fl oz / 275 ml whole milk
1 oz / 25 g plain flour
1 oz / 25 g butter
¼ whole nutmeg, grated
1 x 9 oz / 250 g tub ricotta 
1 large egg
1 oz / 25 g parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350F / 180C. Pour the stock into a medium saucepan together with the puy lentils (but no salt), cover and simmer for 15 min before adding the green lentils. Cover and cook for 15 min, by which time most of the liquid will have been absorbed and the lentils will be soft.

While the lentils cook, heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and fry the onions until they're soft and tinged brown at the edges (about 5 min), then add the chopped pepper and soften and brown that too for about another 4 min. Add the garlic, cook for 1 min more, then transfer the whole lot to a plate.

Put the other 2 tbsp oil in the frying pan, turn the heat up to high and toss the aubergines in it so they get evenly cooked. When they're starting to brown a little, add the tinned tomatoes and the onion and pepper mixture to the pan. In a small bowl mix the wine, tomato purée and cinnamon together, then pour it over the vegetables. Add the lentils and the chopped parsley, season well and let everything simmer gently while you make the topping.

Put the milk, flour, butter and nutmeg in a saucepan and whisk until it comes to simmering point and becomes a smooth glossy sauce. Season with salt and pepper, remove it from the heat and let it cool a little before whisking in the ricotta followed by the beaten egg.

Finally, transfer the vegetable and lentil mixture to a large ovenproof dish and spoon the cheese sauce over the top, using the back of a spoon to take it right up to the edges. Sprinkle with the parmesan, put the dish in the oven and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour. Rest for 15 min before serving.


It tasted good. I did not miss the wine.

Spinach lasagne

I often end up cooking to make myself feel better, and following a recipe for lasagne is about as comforting as it gets. I checked all the recipes I could find for the one heaviest on the spinach, and this one won (4 big bags!). Oh I didn't exactly follow the recipe - I added pine nuts. It was yum.

70 g butter (used naturli)
50 g plain flour
800 ml milk (used oat)
salt+pepper
1 bay leaf
800 g spinach
200 g ricotta cheese
1 whole nutmeg, for grating
300 g fresh lasagne sheets
1-2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
100 g parmesan, grated

Heat the oven to 190C/375F. Melt 50 g of the butter in a pan and whisk in the flour. Cook for 1-2 min, then whisk in the milk till smooth. Season with salt and pepper, add the bay leaf and simmer for 5 min. Turn off the heat. Wilt the spinach with the remaining 20 g butter in a covered pan. When wilted, drain, then, when cool enough to handle, squeeze out the liquid. Chop the spinach and mix with the ricotta, a ladleful of the white sauce and a good grating of nutmeg. Season. In a baking dish, layer the lasagne sheets, white sauce, spinach mixture, toasted pine nuts and a grating of parmesan. Finish with a layer of pasta topped with sauce and more parmesan. Bake for 30 min, or until golden.


I haven't quite worked out how to make-ahead lasagne. This one I think I assembled and let sit for an hour or two in the fridge before baking, and I think it made the pasta slightly soggy. Was still delicious, but there is prob a better way - bake until nearly done then finish off in the oven before serving?

Plantain, chilli and polenta fritters

These used to be one of my go-tos - it was a (Sugar Club) recipe T made and I loved so she colour-photocopied it for me and I made it soooo many times - the recipe is totally splattered. Hadn't had a plantain in a while but the baby loves bananas (obvs, they all do), so I thought plantains might be down his alley too. He liked them - perhaps not as much as good old Jarlsberg but yeah anyway.

225 g / 8 oz (approx 1 normal-sized plantain), grated
80 g / 3 oz polenta grains
1 egg
60 ml / 2 fl oz beer (this is an awkward amount, since we never really drink beer - alternatively add a little bit of water and some baking powder to the mix)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup sliced spring onions (or 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, at a pinch)
1/4 cup fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh green chilli (used 1 whole mild yellow one)
1 tsp salt
veg oil for frying

Mix all ingredients except oil well together and rest for 15 min (note: I did this minus most of the salt and the chilli so that I could fry a few baby-friendly ones first before doing the rest). Heat a frying pan and add enough oil to coat the bottom by a few mm. Heat to smoking, then add spoonfuls of the mixture and cook for 90 sec on each side, stacking on a plate lined with kitchen paper when done. Plantain is sweet so can burn easily - watch the heat.


We ate with red rice and some mild tomato-lime-coriander salsa.

I wrote up a simpler, vegan version on here before.

Leftover raspberry porridge baby biscuits

I made some baby biscuits the other day and they have been quite good for a snack for S when he is shuffling around - they are in the freezer but defrost easily with 30 sec in the microwave; and they aren't crumbly so don't make too much mess (he's hating on sitting in his high chair recently)...

After his breakfast the other day there was quite a bit of delicious raspberry porridge left over (just normal porridge with a few frozen raspberries added before cooking - thicker prob best). And most of a banana. And there was one egg in the fridge. And I was thinking, that added up to pretty much a similar thing to the baby biscuits I made the other day, with the advantage of not throwing away the leftover porridge... The ingredient quantities are a little bit improvised, but these came out quite good and I suspect it is reasonably robust to using up variable amounts of stuff.

I made these right after breakfast on a day S was home sick from vuggestue, alone with me, and it took all of about 30 min from beginning to end, and I didn't half feel like we'd done far too much winning already before 09:30...

(makes c 15 small-medium biscuits - keep for a few days or store in the freezer)

c 1/2 cup leftover porridge (with raspberries in it)
2/3 of a medium banana, mashed
1 egg
c 1/2 cup flour
c 1/4 cup oats
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp vanilla powder (or cinnamon)
(veg oil)
(raisins)

Heat oven to 180C. Mix porridge, banana and egg together with a fork. Add flour, oats, baking powder and vanilla and mix until just combined. Dollop in biscuit sized clumps onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper, and bake 25-30 min until lightly golden on top.


I realized afterwards that maybe should have added some oil or melted butter - if I try this again maybe I will. If the leftover porridge hadn't had raspberries in it I might have added some raisins and cinnamon. Also, the mix was a little bit runnier than I would have liked - and note that runniness will depend a bit on the consistency and amount of the leftover porridge, so may need to adjust amounts of flour and oats.

S's birthday cake from 2018

Was just looking back and enjoying how this is, if nothing else, a repository for all the birthday cakes I have made S (and now small S too) since 2011. Gosh, 9 years: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 + small S 2018 (we've been together for 13 - I guess a few cakes are missing from back in the mists of time). Then I realized that last year's is missing - I did bake a cake, even though he was away at a conference on his birthday and we were deep in baby fug... But I guess I didn't manage to write it up / decided not to... But I really think I ought, for completeness, so here we are...

For my birthday in 2017, I was still in hospital after giving birth to small S, so my birthday cake from Sebastian was a book of German baking recipes and a promise to bake me whichever one I liked when we were home. I made him a cake from that book for his birthday too... Luckily small S was going through possibly his best-ever napping phase then, so I had a little time for cake baking. I chose to make a mohntorte, with walnuts from the garden. It was pretty epic, I had to grind the walnuts and the poppyseeds before even starting on the cake, and it's kind of a long recipe. But here goes...

175 g butter, softened
50 g icing sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 tbsp rum
zest of 1 lemon
180 g ground walnuts (or almonds, or a mix)
210 g poppy seeds
pinch salt
125 g granulated sugar
100 g redcurrant jelly

Heat oven to 180C. Line the base of a 9 in / 23 cm springform tin with baking paper and grease the sides.

Cream the butter and icing sugar. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the rum and lemon zest, and beat until thick and glossy. Fold in ground nuts and poppy seeds until just combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they start to form large bubbles. Add the granulated sugar 1 tbsp at a time, whisking all the time, until the mix is stiff and glossy.

Scrape 1/3 of the egg white mixture into the nut mixture and fold in to lighten. Then fold in the next 1/3; then the final 1/3, until no white streaks remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking tin and smooth the top.

Put in the oven and bake 50-55 min, rotating halfway through (pretty sure mine took longer). It is ready when the cake is pulling away from the edges and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 5 min before turning out, peeling off the paper, and letting cool upside down on rack.

When ready to assemble (and the cake is completely cool), heat the jelly in a small saucepan until runny, then remove from the heat and let cool briefly. Slice the torte in half horizontally. Spread the jelly evenly over the bottom layer, then put the top layer on top. Sift icing sugar on top (use a stencil if you like). It will keep, lightly wrapped in clingfilm, for several days.


It was a good combination; different from anything I had before, not too sweet, as often the case for German cakes. How could I forget?!

Hummingbird 40th birthday balloon cake

Oh my oh my S is 40 today! As his birthday present he got to pick me up from an overnight stay in hospital... But he also gets a cake! I was thinking of doing a good old coffee and walnut cake, but that seemed a bit unoriginal, plus we'd run out of garden walnuts and I couldn't find any in Lidl and it just felt like the world was telling me I should try something different... So anyway, I wanted to use pecans instead, and was dreaming about good combinations with pecan - cinnamon seemed like a good fit... something creamy... maybe caramelly... Then I stumbled across a Hummingbird cake, and wondered why I'd never tried it - with pineapple, pecans, cinnamon, banana, sounds like just our kind of thing (S has a long running pineapple juice addiction). It's apparently a Southern (USA) thing, but I felt like a Europeanized recipe might work best for us... In the end I decided to follow the Hummingbird Bakery recipe (the name match seemed too good, plus they gave weights for the fruit so I hoped it'd be foolproof) - although it had a bit less pineapple than other recipes I looked at, maybe more pineapple would be nice... And I freestyled some mascarpone icing, with Jamie Oliver inspired lime zest in it... And some appropriate decoration: it's supposed to look like 4 and 0 balloons: since there's also a balloon card and a baby who loves balloons around, a theme emerged... I made the cake and icing a couple of days ago and stored the cake wrapped in clingfilm and the icing in a tub in the fridge ready to assemble today.

For the cake:
270 g peeled bananas, mashed (approx 3 large bananas)
300 g caster sugar (used golden sugar, blended up a little to make it more caster-y)
3 eggs
300 ml sunflower oil
1 tsp cinnamon
250 g flour
50 g desiccated coconut
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
100 g tinned pineapple, chopped into small pieces
100 g pecans, chopped

For the icing:
c 3 tbsp golden sugar blended to a powder
c 50 g butter, at room temperature
1 tub (250 g) mascarpone
zest of 1 lime
1 tsp cinnamon

Decorations:
Remaining pineapple rings
Toasted chopped pecans

Heat the oven to 170C. Line the base(s) of round cake tin(s) with baking paper (I only have one, springform tin so used that - ideally this would be 2-3 layers though). Mash the banana in a medium bowl with a fork, then mix in the sugar, eggs, oil, and cinnamon. In a separate, large bowl, mix the flour, coconut, bicarb, salt and vanilla with a fork. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix until combined, adding the chopped pineapple and pecans towards the end. Scrape into the prepared baking tin(s), spread evenly, and bake until a skewer comes out clean - for one big cake this took about an hour and 15 min; for 3 layers this ought to take 20-25 min. Let cool slightly in the tin(s) before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

While the cake is baking / cooling, make the icing and decorations. For the icing, cream sugar and butter together, then add the mascarpone, lime zest and cinnamon. Beat together until smooth and creamy. Store in the fridge until needed.

When ready to assemble, slice the massive cake in half horizontally, then layer with half the icing in the middle, along with some chopped pineapple and toasted chopped pecans. Then spread the rest of the icing smoothly on top and decorate with 4-0 pineapple rings and some chopped pecans.


It was good, although I think I'd have liked it more with less oil, less banana and more pineapple - perhaps future experiments required... maybe this one?

Potato pizza

We'd tried a few approaches to potato pizza, but they'd never been quite like the real thing. I think my recent pizza experiments with thinly sliced apples/mushrooms made me think of potato pizza, so I read a bit and gave it another go. It came out brilliant.

1 batch pre-made pizza dough
some medium-sized potatoes
salt
olive oil
rosemary (fresh or dried)
black pepper

Wash the potatoes but leave the skin on. Slice them as thin as you can with a peeler or sharp knife (or mandoline, if you have one) - try to judge the right amount of potato for the amount of pizza you want to make - if in doubt, err on the side of too much. Mix some salt in a medium bowl with some water, stir until dissolved, then add the potato slices. Set aside - for at least a couple of hours, or longer - will be ok in the fridge for up to a couple of days.

When ready to make pizza, drain the potato slices, rinse and pat dry with kitchen roll or a tea towel. Put in a bowl with a good slosh of olive oil, some fresh-ground pepper, and some fresh or dried rosemary, and mix well. Set aside, pre-heat the oven to 220C and roll out the pizza dough.

Arrange the potato slices over the pizza base, letting them overlap and spreading them right out to the edges. Sprinkle any remaining olive oil / rosemary mixture over the top. Put in the oven and bake for c 20 min, until the potatoes are lightly browned and crispy in places.

If you have too much sliced potato, put them in a baking tin a few layers deep with a little cheese on top and bake together with the pizza - makes a tasty extra snack.

Boiled peanuts

We ate a lot of dumplings in honour of Chinese New Year. I was thinking about potential side dishes, in case only dumplings wouldn't be a proper meal, and suddenly remembered super tasty boiled peanuts we'd eaten with dumplings from a food stall at Vippa (food stall place in shipping building by the ferry port) in Oslo. I couldn't quite remember how they'd been, other than that they were brown and tasted like soy sauce... We had some peanuts, so I followed this recipe. We also ate some miso aubergine with our dumplings.

1 cup raw shelled peanuts with skins (only had roasted salted ones so rinsed them and used them)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp mirin (or white wine)
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup (used maple syrup)
1 cup water 
1/4 tsp sesame seeds

Put the peanuts in a small pan with 2 cups water, bring to the boil, and boil for about 5 min. Drain. Put the peanuts back in the pan with the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, syrup and water. Bring to the boil. Simmer over a medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, approx 20-25 min, stirring occasionally (I found it took a little longer, but then also thought maybe I went too far - they were a little bit too sticky). Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and maybe some chopped coriander, and serve.

Banana and oat baby biscuits

Since I was making chocolatey adults-only treats, I figured baby S needed some treats too. He enjoyed some baby biscuits I'd bought for him recently, so I'd been thinking of making him some kind of sugar free biscuits. I was thinking banana and oat, so decided to start with this recipe.

(note that the quantities are a bit cumbersome because I was converting from Aussie/NZ cups and tbsps)

(makes approx. 20)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp (20 ml) chia seeds (or 1 beaten egg)
2 tbsp + 2 tsp (40 ml) water (or milk)
350 g fruit puree (ended up using 3 small bananas plus half a cup of apple puree this time - should work with wholly either, so long as the apple is not too liquidy)
1/2 tsp vanilla (or cinnamon)
310 ml oats
125 ml flour

Heat oven to 180C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Mix the chia seeds with the water/milk and let sit for 10-15 min. Meanwhile mash the bananas or prep other puree in a medium bowl. Add the chia mix and vanilla to the bananas and mix. Then add the oats and flour and mix some more - it will be moist and sticky. Scoop tablespoonfuls onto the tray, then bake for 25-30 min, until golden brown on bottom but still soft inside. Let cool. Store in the fridge or freezer.


He seems to like them! I tested them first and they tasted good to me too. And I don't feed bad giving them to him as the ingredients seem pretty wholesome... Think apple+cinnamon or banana+vanilla would be good combos - just didn't have enough bananas and wanted to use banana for this time.

Chocolate biscuit cake

I have made chocolate biscuit cake before, it's a classic. This one is slightly different - not necessarily vegan, and didn't add milk/cream. Approximately followed this recipe.

This turns out to be an excellent use-up recipe - it came to mind because I had a pack of biscuits I knew I wouldn't eat before they got old, and then some chocolate that was either too milky or I wasn't that into for another reason, and then some ends of packets of dried fruit and nuts got in there, the end of a pack of butter and a bit of coconut oil, even a few green tea biscuits (these last not entirely recommended)...

250 g / 8 oz biscuits (used mostly havrekiks = oat biscuits, recommended; and threw in a few green tea biscuits, not so recommended)
300 g / 10 oz chocolate (mix of milk and dark is OK, I favour the dark)
100 g / 3 1/2 oz butter (or margarine, or coconut oil)
150 g / 5 oz golden syrup
175 g / 6 oz dried fruit (used a mix of cranberries, chopped crystallized ginger, chopped apricots and raisins; all recommended)
60 g / 2 oz roughly chopped nuts (used a mix of pecans and hazelnuts; both recommended)

Line a 20 cm / 8 in square tin with cling film, leaving extra hanging over the edges. Put the biscuits in a bag and bash to pieces with a rolling pin.

Melt chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in a medium bowl (large enough for all ingredients) over a pan of hot water. When all is liquid and smooth, take the bowl off the heat and mix in the bashed biscuits, dried fruit and nuts. Spoon into the prepared tin and press down / level off. Let cool to room temperature, then put in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours. Then turn them out, peel off the cling film and cut into squares. Store in the fridge.


It is very rich so small pieces are sufficient. This makes a lot - a half quantity would be a good amount for our household. But I am thinking it should freeze well, so put about half in the freezer - let's see how that goes.

If I make this again, I think I'd try reducing the golden syrup, and using coconut oil instead of butter and less of that too - it is maybe a little too sweet for my taste; and starts to get a wee bit melty quite quickly when it comes to room temp.

Mushroom pate

I had thought of making this mushroom pate for ages - it sounded simple and tasty. Then ended up with lots of nice fresh mushrooms, and it turns out that the baby loooovvvves mushrooms. Mushrooms are top of my list of foods I didn't expect him to like but he loves... He also likes cream cheese, so I figured it was time...

30 g butter
250 g mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and finely chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
250 g cream cheese (used 125 g)
salt+pepper

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic and saute until the mushrooms' moisture has been released and reabsorbed and they are nicely browned. Leave to cool.

Scrape the mushroom mix into a blender and blend up. Add the cream cheese and mix. Season to taste then let cool completely. Ideally refrigerate for at least an hour.


And yes, the small one is well into it.

Pao de queijo (vegetarian not vegan)

We found somewhere in CPH selling pao de queijo! Which was exciting... and also reminded me that (1) they are easy to make; (2) I have never made non-vegan ones, which presumably are even easier than the vegan ones I made before; and (3) we were close to the best place I could think of to find tapioca flour.

I read around a bit on Google, and decided to use this recipe, because it was clear and seemed straightforward.

(makes c 24 medium sized ones)

1 cup milk (used oat milk)
1/2 cup veg oil
1 tsp salt
10 oz / 284 g tapioca flour
2 large eggs
1 packed cup grated cheese (used a mixture of parmesan, pråst and jarlsberg... the internet suggests that pretty much any cheese will do - most recipes use either parmesan or a mix of parmesan and mozzarella... pics of the real Brazilian cheese look quite like pråst - perhaps that's a good local sub?)

Heat the oven to 450F / 232C. Line two baking sheets with baking paper.

Bring the milk, oil and salt to a gentle boil over a medium heat in a medium-large saucepan (big enough to fit all ingredients and mix the dough). Stir occasionally. Remove when you can see big bubbles.

Add the tapioca flour and stir with a wooden spoon until there is no dry flour and the dough is grainy and gelatinous. Beat the dough for a few minutes until it smooths out and has cooled down enough that you can hold your finger against it for a few seconds. There may be a bit of an oily unincorporated bit.

Beat in the eggs one at a time - fully incorporate the first one before adding the second. Beat in the cheese until fully incorporated. It should be a sticky, stretchy, soft dough.

Scoop the dough into approx 2 tbsp sized balls and place on a baking sheet approx 2 in apart (should be 12 per sheet). Try dipping the scoop in water between scoops to prevent sticking.

Put the baking sheets in the oven and reduce the heat to 350F / 177C. Bake for 15 min, then rotate top-bottom and front-back. Bake 10-15 min more, until puffed, outsides dry, and golden brown on the bottoms (mine only needed 10 more min). Cool a few minutes and eat while warm.


I shaped them in the afternoon and let them sit for an hour or so, then baked half of them for dinner. The other half I put in the fridge for a couple of days and then baked, and they were good too. I wanted to try baking from freezing but the freezer was too full.

They were good! And simple and quick (for a bread). I kind of want to go back and try the vegan ones again - I remember them being really good too, and thinking you don't really need the cheese - the texture and savoury deliciousness is all you really need...

Also! I think potato starch might be easier to find and give a similar texture, and so I want to try making some with that instead of tapioca - I found a recipe, I'll add it when I've tried.

Veggie haggis falafel

Since it was Burns Night last Friday, I made our favourite vegetarian haggis, with leeks and potatoes. I didn't have the yuba to wrap it in - no idea where to get that around here - so I just scraped the haggis into a loaf tin when it was finished cooking on the stovetop, and baked it in the oven for about 30 min. The best part was the browner, crunchier bits around the edges. So I decided to try turning the leftovers into baked falafel type things...

vegetarian haggis leftovers (we had about a third of the total amount left)
olive oil

Heat oven to 200C. Lightly rub a large baking tray with olive oil. Mush haggis together with a fork. Then roll into falafel-sized balls and spread them out on the baking tray. Bake for approx 20 min, turning halfway through, until nicely browned and hot.


Ate them together with: a tabbouleh-ish salad with couscous and lots of parsley based on this; hummus; tahini sauce; bread and carrot sticks. They were everything I hoped for. I should really make baked beanburger-y things more often...

Sweet potato and red kidney bean chilli

The day after baby S's first birthday, a Sunday, he and I went up the road to the airbnb house that Dad, S and sisters were staying in. S made us dinner. It was lovely. It suddenly felt like a long time since I'd had a proper home-cooked family dinner, and it was soooo nice. She made a chilli based on this one (with reduced chillis to make it baby-friendly) with tortillas and sour cream and she made guacamole too, and it felt a bit like being back home. It was really tasty, I loved the sweet potatoes and the kidney beans - and so did baby S - he ate loads, and revelled in being the centre of attention while everyone sang and made a fuss of him. And I saw how much he gets out of being around family. And anyway, I am making this again now, to try and stave off anxiety about my surgery tomorrow, and to make sure we have something nice and nourishing to keep us, especially me, going through the next few days.

500 g sweet potatoes (1 massive one or 2 normal sized ones), peeled and chopped into big chunks
1 level tsp cayenne
1 heaped tsp ground cumin
1 level tsp cinnamon
olive oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 red bell peppers (or 1 red and 1 yellow), chopped into big chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 bunch coriander, chopped with stalks and leaves approximately separated
1 red chili and 1 green chili, deseeded and finely chopped (skipped this to make it baby-friendly)
2 x 400 g tins red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 x 400 g tins chopped tomatoes
salt+pepper

Heat oven to 200C. Put sweet potato chunks onto a baking tray, sprinkle with pinches of cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, sea salt and black pepper, drizzle with olive oil and toss. Roast for 40 min, until golden and tender. Remove when ready and set aside until needed.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan, medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers and garlic and cook for 5 min. Add the coriander stalks, chillis if using, and the rest of the spices, and cook for 5-10 min. Add drained beans and tinned tomatoes, stir and let simmer for 25-30 min until thick and reduced. Stir in sweet potato chunks and coriander leaves, taste and season, and scatter a little coriander on top before serving.


Thinking about making cornbread to go with it.

Blue+white pizza with apple, walnuts and rosemary

When the fridge gets emptier, my cooking often gets better and more creative... The other day saw the highly serendipitous meeting of the last  tub of cream cheese I didn’t use for sage’s birthday cake with rosemary and apple from our veg bag and a handful of the last of our 2018 walnut harvest... and some gorgonzola for good measure... It was rather a successful experiment!

(makes 2 pizzas)

1 quantity pizza dough (must be made in advance)
1 tub cream cheese
c 1/2 cup diced gorgonzola
1 large apple (Belle de Boskoop), cored and thinly sliced
handful of walnuts
c 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Roll out half the dough, using some flour, and transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the other half. Prepare a white sauce by mashing the gorgonzola together with the cream cheese, and then spread it evenly over the two bases. Arrange the apple slices across the pizza bases, then sprinkle with walnut pieces and chopped rosemary. Bake for 20-25 min until done, take out of the oven and let cool for a few minutes before eating.


We made this twice, and the second time I did a little variation, using thinly sliced superfresh chestnut mushrooms instead of apple, and that was really good too. And then we started speculating about all sorts of other fruits and veggies that would be good in this combo instead of apple - figs? thin potato slices? etc...

Beeswax candles

I have been hoarding beeswax for a while - edges and pieces and cappings from when harvesting honey. So it's not pure - still contains unevenness and odd bits of honey or bee, although I usually rinse it (honey vodka aka honning syppe!), drain it and air dry it as well as I can... and then was thinking about what to do with it... I decided to try to make candles this time - and to try putting them into jars instead of moulds. Sooo this is what I did.

For the moulds and wick:
2 clean small (c 100 ml volume) jars with lids
thick (c. 2-3 mm) braided cotton string for wick
2 x 2 DKK coins (to use as wick weights)
tape and 2 toothpicks to keep wick in place

For the wax:
175 g beeswax
41 g coconut oil
(this should be good proportions of wax:oil to give a candle that burns well)
large jar for use in double boiler

First, estimate how much wax you have - weigh it. And how much you can fit into each jar - weigh volume of water that fits into each. Then make sure you prep an appropriate number of jars.

Next, prepare the moulds. Take a piece of wick, put one end of it through the hole in the middle of the coin and tie a knot to stop it slipping back through. Melt a little wax and use it to stick the coin+knot to the bottom of the jar in the middle. Bring the other end of the wick to the middle of the top of the jar, gently taut, and fix in place by taping to a toothpick (or similar) balanced and taped across the middle of the mouth of the jar. Cut the wick at the top of the jar for now. Prepare all moulds like this. They are now ready to fill.

I like to use a large jar that I do not need and can go in the recycling afterwards as the bowl of a double boiler (as the wax is a bit tricky to clean off thoroughly - don't put it down the drain). Melt beeswax and coconut oil together in the jar over nearly-boiling water. It takes a while, be patient and keep stirring. I did half the quantity (ie one mould's worth), then the other half. When the wax is melted, pour carefully into the prepared mould, up to approx the top of the straight sides, around 2 cm from the top, and let sit until solid. Repeat for the other wax and moulds. Let them sit, undisturbed, for a day or two to cure.

When ready to finish, remove the tape and toothpicks and trim the wick with small sharp scissors so it sits just inside the jar top. Put the lids on and decorate the jar as you wish. The candles are now ready to burn.


Note: you could add scent via essential oils, but I preferred the idea of just having a gentle coconutty / beeswax-y smell.

Apple galette with walnut pastry

This was one of those ideas that crystallized suddenly, and I just had to figure out how to do it. I wanted a galette, with a sticky apple filling and a crisp walnut pastry. I based the pastry on this recipe, and the filling on this one. I love a galette just now, a pie without needing a pie dish, brilliant.

(makes one galette - approx 4 portions)

For the pastry:
30 g walnuts, toasted
120 g flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
23 g chilled butter, cut into small cubes
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
c 3 tbsp cold water

For the filling:
8 small apples
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

Grind walnuts until finely chopped. Mix with flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Add butter and rub in until the mix resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in oil, then stir in water 1 tbsp at a time until it comes together. Gather into a ball, flatten into a disc, then wrap in cling film and chill for at least an hour.

While the pastry is chilling, prepare the filling. Peel, halve and core the apples, then slice crosswise c 1/4 in thick. Keep the good slices whole, and chop the ends and broken pieces, so about half the amount of apple is slices and the rest chopped. In a separate, small bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon.

When ready to assemble, first heat the oven to 210C / 420F. Roll out the chilled pastry on a piece of baking paper and transfer to a baking sheet. Spread the chopped apples over the pastry, leaving about a 2 in border around the edges. Drizzle with honey. Arrange the sliced apples over the top, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and dot with pieces of butter. Fold the edges over, and brush with egg (or milk, or nothing). Bake for approx. 45 min, until golden brown and pastry is crisp - cover with tinfoil if it starts to catch.


We ate with custard and it went down very well. The pastry was delicious and crisp, but the walnuts gave more texture than taste - another time maybe I'd try increasing the walnut content... and could potentially add half as much apple again and pile it high, too.

Cabbage and spelt soup

I have never before made anything that was so much more than the sum of its parts: this was delicious! And the recipe was posted just after I picked up a big white cabbage, a huge bunch of rosemary and some shallots from our vegetable club, and a little rooting around revealed we also had some spelt in the house... It took a while but it was amazing - I've never enjoyed anything with long-cooked cabbage this much! Strangely reminiscent of pasta+chickpeas, which we also love.

1 lb cabbage, white, savoy or green
olive oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 sprig of rosemary or thyme (used rosemary)
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup uncooked farro (not sure what farro is - used pearled spelt because that's what we had)
c 4 cups veg stock
parmesan rind (optional)
1 tbsp lemon juice
shaved parmesan, to finish (optional)

Cut out the cabbage core and finely chop it. Cut the leaves into fine shreds or about 1/8-inch ribbons. Heat c 3 tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cabbage core, some salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to soften but is not yet browned, about 5-7 min. Add the garlic and cook another 3-5 min, until the garlic softens too. Add the shredded cabbage leaves and herb sprig, if using. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover the pot and let it steam a bit to soften the leaves, then toss the cabbage to combine with other ingredients. Cook, covered, until the cabbage is very sweet and tender, approx 30 min. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, heat a glug of olive oil over medium and add the uncooked farro. Toast it, stirring, for a few minutes, until half a shade darker.

When the cabbage is ready, stir in the vinegar. Taste and season with more salt and pepper. Add toasted farro, stock, and parmesan rind. Bring mixture to a lazy simmer and cook for 25-35 min, until farro is tender and all the flavors are married. The soup will be very thick, but if you’d prefer more liquid, add another 1/2 cup stock or water. Taste and adjust seasoning again. Stir in lemon juice. Ladle into bowls and finish each with a drizzle of olive oil and a shower of parmesan (if using), with more parmesan passed at the table.

Soup keeps well in the fridge for 3 days, and for weeks or longer in the freezer.


I ended up making this twice! The first time we wowed over it at home, the second time I made double, and it was 3 meals - one dinner at home, one work lunch for seb and me, and I took the final portion for lunch with C and new baby M.

Pulled jackfruit

After one of my chemo appointments, Seb and I went for lunch at a vegan place in Nørrebro. I ate something with jackfruit and wasn't that into it - whether it was the preparation or just how I was feeling that day. But Seb was intrigued, and he later returned from the shops with a tin of it - after we'd spotted the fresh stuff at the Thai supermarket in Vesterbro and resisted... So it was a mission for him, to convince me to like it. He made a classic pulled jackfruit, following this recipe. And I did like it! It was sweet and salty but the texture of the jackfruit was really tender and delicious. More experients may be in order!

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp chipotle Tabasco
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp BBQ sauce
200 g can chopped tomatoes
2 x 400g cans young jackfruit in salted water

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion until very soft, for around 10-12 mins. Add the cinnamon, cumin and paprika to the onions and cook for a further 2-3 mins. Next add the Tabasco, vinegar and bbq sauce and mix well before adding in the tomato, the drained jackfruit and 200ml water. Leave to simmer gently, covered, for 30 mins stirring every 5-10 mins to help break down the jackfruit, then take the lid off and cook a further 10 minutes.

Once cooked, use a fork to make sure all of the jackfruit is well shredded. Check seasoning and add another tbsp of bbq sauce if necessary for extra stickiness.

Sage's First Birthday Cake (cinnamon-cream cheese icing)

We had a party for Sage's first birthday! I made a huge banana cake as a sheet cake. I wanted to make it without refined sugar, not really sure why it just felt like the right thing to do. I used this recipe (without nuts or chocolate, and using maple syrup instead of honey) as (1) I'd tried it before and (2) I remembered it being delicious. Something went wrong though - either I didn't use enough raising agent or it was just not the kind of thing that scales well... because it was pretty solid. Tasted OK though, and the small one seemed to like it! I made a cream cheese and cinnamon icing, which is usually where I go wrong - improvising the icing - but this time that part was the successful part...

Basic icing:
3/4 pack of butter, softened
3 tubs cream cheese, at room temp
c 3 tbsp maple sugar (ground up maple candy)
2 tsp ground cinnamon

For cake decoration: 
pumpkin seed butter
fresh raspberries and blueberries

Cream butter, then beat together with the cream cheese, maple sugar and cinnamon. Chill until needed.

To decorate, I mixed about 3/4 cup of the icing with some pumpkin seed butter to make it green (didn't come out as bright as I'd have liked but never mind). Then iced the cake with the non green icing, piped the words and stars with the green stuff, and added raspberries and blueberries.